Proteomic Profiling to Differentiate Pancreatic and Biliary Adenocarcinomas
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: proteomic profiling.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma. Basic parameters: from 18 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- France
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
Unsure about the terms? Read our patient guide →
Overview
Distal cholangiocarcinoma and pancreatic adenocarcinoma are aggressive cancers with overlapping diagnostic features, making them challenging to differentiate. Although both require similar surgical treatment, their postoperative chemotherapy regimens differ significantly, with capecitabine used for distal cholangiocarcinoma and modified FOLFIRINOX for pancreatic adenocarcinoma, based on distinct guidelines. In 10-20% of cases, due to their close anatomical proximity, pathologists cannot distinguish between these cancers, leading to diagnostic uncertainty and potential therapeutic missteps. Proteomic profiling, a cutting-edge technique leveraging protein analysis for diagnostic precision, could offer a novel solution to this challenge, although it has yet to be applied in this context
Detailed description
Distal cholangiocarcinoma (also known as biliary adenocarcinoma) and pancreatic adenocarcinoma are two aggressive cancers with numerous diagnostic similarities. They often present with nearly identical clinical features, tumor markers, and imaging findings on computed tomography (CT). Both cancers require similar surgical management-namely, a pancreaticoduodenectomy (also known as the Whipple procedure)-but their adjuvant systemic chemotherapy protocols in the postoperative setting differ significantly.
According to the French guidelines from the National Digestive Cancer Thesaurus, patients operated on for distal cholangiocarcinoma receive capecitabine as adjuvant therapy, while those treated for pancreatic adenocarcinoma receive modified FOLFIRINOX. These recommendations are based on randomized prospective studies that demonstrated improved overall survival and recurrence-free survival with these specific therapeutic regimens for each cancer. Thus, selecting the appropriate chemotherapy tailored to the cancer type is crucial for patient outcomes.
However, due to the close anatomical proximity of these two tumors-since the bile duct traverses the pancreatic head-it is estimated that in 10-20% of cases, the pathologist is unable to distinguish between these cancers. In such instances, the diagnosis is reported as "adenocarcinoma of pancreatobiliary origin." This ambiguity forces clinicians to choose a chemotherapy regimen based on a combination of clinical, radiological, and pathological findings rather than definitive histological evidence, thereby increasing the risk of an inappropriate treatment choice.
Proteomic profiling is an innovative analytical technique that enables diagnostic insights by analyzing the complete protein composition of a tissue sample and matching it to predefined profiles using statistical algorithms. While this method has already been successfully employed to aid in the diagnosis of other conditions-such as hepatocellular adenomas, amyloidosis, and biliary strictures of indeterminate origin-it has not yet been applied to differentiate pancreatic adenocarcinoma from distal cholangiocarcinoma.
Interventions
- Diagnostic test proteomic profiling
proteomic profiling
Primary outcome measures
- proteomic signature [Time frame: baseline]
Secondary outcome measures (1)
- diagnostic biomarkers [Time frame: baseline]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Patients ≥ 18 years old
- Pancreaticoduodenectomy for pancreatic adenocarcinoma or distal cholangiocarcinoma
- Patient's non-opposition to the reuse of data
Exclusion criteria
- Neoadjuvant chemotherapy
- Patients under legal protection
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: No
Study design
- Observational model
- Case-only
Study locations
France · 1 center
- CHU Bordeaux — Pessac
Identifiers
NCT: NCT06776146 · CHUBX 2024/94